Fortune Favors Fools: Letting Loose
by LAXgirl
Summary: Fem!Dino/Trap In the aftermath of the Maximals' near-annihilation at Megatron's hands, Dinobot struggles to come to terms with her defeat. And who better to help her do so than a rat with his own personal cure-all remedy?


**Chapter Five: Letting Loose**

Rattrap sat slouched deep in his seat in front of one of the Axalon's computer stations. Except for himself, the ship's bridge was completely deserted. Everyone else had retired hours ago to recharge after the day's harrowing events. By his estimations, it was almost the middle of the night. Despite his own exhaustion from nearly being decapitated by his lover's clone and then having a military-grade bomb almost wipe him and all his fellow Maximals off the face of the planet he couldn't quite bring himself to seek the comfort of his personal quarters just yet.

A disembodied virtual hand was dealing a new round of cards out on the screen but Rattrap only glanced at them half-heartedly before calling for a raise. He'd started playing several hours ago merely as a distraction and stress-reliever, but so far his processor didn't seem to be in the mood for cheap entertainment. His thoughts repeatedly drifted towards the only occupied CR chamber on the other side of the bridge.

Despite cutting it extremely close, he'd managed to get Dinobot back to base and inside a repair tank before she could slip into full stasis lock. He'd never felt such unbridled fear or panic as when he'd watched Optimus and Rhinox carry the bleeding, offline femme aboard and into the nearest CR chamber. Back on Cybertron, Rattrap had never been what one would call "religious," but in less than one hour he'd shot off more prayers, pleas, supplications and desperate promises to be a better 'bot to Primus than he had over the course of his entire function. It was only when the doors had closed around Dinobot and the repair functions started that Rattrap was able to answer any of Optimus or Rhinox's questions.

For everything he'd had to tell them, they'd taken it all in extremely well. Megatron's attempt to annihilate them was nothing new. In fact they'd all been pretty much waiting for the warlord to make a move like that for some time now. The Daisy Cutter had been an unexpected element to his usual schemes but, again, nothing too surprising there. Megatron making a transmetal clone of his ex-lieutenant-turned-Maximal-warrioress? Definitely not something they were expecting. And then to have said clone single-handedly hand said warrioress her own aft on a silver plate? Dismaying. Troubling. Downright terrifying even. No one - Maximal or Predacon - had ever injured Dinobot to the extent that Talon had in but a few short minutes. She'd all but shredded the warrioress to pieces. Why she hadn't finished Dinobot off, Rattrap still didn't know but for now wasn't about to question. All he knew for sure was that he'd managed to get Dinobot back to base in time and all that remained to do now was wait.

Not long after his and Dinobot's arrival, Silverbolt, Blackarachnia, Tigatron and Airazor had returned as well - all of them battle-haggard, singed around the edges and carrying a noticeable look of defeat on each of their facial plates. Although it had been a close call, everyone in the end had made it home in one piece. Or at least with no detached limbs…

For possibly the thousandth time since returning Rattrap glanced in the direction of Dinobot's CR chamber. A little red light glowed over the compartment hatch, signaling to the outside that repairs were still underway inside.

Rattrap heaved a dejected sigh and tried to focus again on his poker game. He was losing by several hundred credits. With the distracted press of the "call" button, he instantly lost several hundred more.

"Aw, frag it," he cursed under his vents, and punched the vid-screen off. He slouched down in his seat even more. With one hand he reached up and wearily massaged the small pinch of metal between his optics. He was so tired. All he wanted to do was go recharge in his own berth, but he refused to leave until he knew Dinobot was safely repaired. He'd seen Dinobot injured in battle before - several times so badly the warrioress had had to stay inside the CR chamber for several days. But he'd never seen her so close to the edge of actual deactivation as he had after her clash with Talon. It was the closest he'd ever come to losing her and it had shaken him on a level he hadn't ever realized he was capable of feeling for another 'bot before. He supposed he should have been upset by this unsettling revelation of just how deep the ex-Predacon warrioress had wormed her way into his spark, but for the life in him he couldn't find the energy to be so flippantly dismissive about what had transpired. All he wanted was to know that Dinobot was well again and see her walk out of that repair chamber in one piece.

As if in answer to his unspoken desire, a happy chirp sounded from the CR chamber on the other side of the bridge. Rattrap whirled around in his seat at the sound.

_Finally…_

With a loud rush of air, the chamber's pressure locks released and the doors hissed open to reveal a fully repaired Dinobot on the other side.

"Choppa'face," Rattrap said with an unbidden rush of relief. He surged to his feet to greet her. Dinobot turned and groggily stared at him as he came to a stop in front of her. Rattrap knew from experience how strongly lingering traces of the chamber's anesthetics could affect a 'bot before they finally faded from their system. Considering the fuzzy glow of Dinobot's optics, the chamber must have had to use massive doses of the stuff while it repaired Talon's handiwork.

"Rodent," Dinobot finally replied after a moments' pause. With a sharp shake of her helm and rapid blink of her optics she seemed to rattle herself back into fully functioning order.

"Aw, man, Choppa'face, you have no idea how worried I was 'bout 'chu," Rattrap said in an unexpected rush of words. "I thought ya were really gonna kick da bucket dis time." Stepping closer to the raptor he reached out and gingerly fingered the spots of discolored, freshly reconstructed protomatter beneath her breastplate. The warrioress shifted uncomfortably under his touch but did not back away or tell him to stop. No doubt those weld marks were going to be tender for several days. Considering how deeply they'd punctured her sub-structure they had every right to be sore. More than likely she'd carry scars from them for the rest of her function beneath her armor.

Dinobot snorted dismissively under her breath. "Although I appreciate your worries for my wellbeing they are misplaced and unnecessary. I go into every battle knowing it might very well be my last and do not need you or anyone else expending unwanted emotions on me."

Rattrap sighed heavily. Leave it to Dinobot to ruin any chance for a tender moment between them. Call him a romantic, but usually after one lover is pulled from the brink of death he thought it was only proper that the two should at least express their happiness for seeing each other alive; or that the one should at least _thank_ the other lover for risking his own life to save hers when they were reunited again. "I'll keep dat in mind fer next time…" he murmured as Dinobot brushed past him onto the bridge.

The warrioress glanced around the dimly lit command deck. "Where is Optimus?" she demanded. "I must report to him about what happened."

"It's da middle of da night, Lizard Lips. You were in dat box fer more den twelve hours. Everyone's in bed now. An' I already told Optimus all 'bout wha' happened with Megs. Oh, an' just so ya don' get all worked up worryin,' everyone else made it back ta base in one piece too."

Dinobot snarled, her hands clenching into two fists by her side. "Slaggit." Rattrap was taken aback by the curse. Dinobot rarely ever demeaned herself by resorting to such crude language. With an angry sigh the warrioress stalked towards the nearest chair and dropped into it with an uncharacteristic disregard for poise or grace. Leaning back in it, Dinobot tipped her head down against the back of the chair and stared dejectedly up at the ceiling.

"Hey… ya okay?" Rattrap asked, hesitantly moving closer to where she sat. He'd never seen the warrioress look so defeated or utterly miserable before.

Dinobot did not take her optics from the ceiling as she snarled out of the corner of her mouth, "I failed in my duty, Vermin. I am not what one would consider 'okay.' Our commander entrusted me with a mission of considerable importance and I failed him. I was not strong enough to ensure the safety of those I was given authority over, nor even my own. I was defeated in battle by a deranged clone of myself who is nothing more than a mindless attack drone of Megatron. And to cement my failure even further was the fact that in the end of all this, I was not even able to earn myself an honorable death to atone for the shame of my defeat because of your stubbornness and unwanted assistance."

"Yer welcome fer dat, by da way," Rattrap sourily shot back.

Dinobot ignored him and continued to morosely stare up at the ceiling. "I should abandon all hope of Optimus ever giving me such a position again. I have fought so long and hard to win the right to lead without having to disguise myself behind mech armor, and my first chance to do so I prove myself a failure. I am a disgrace to both my gender and caste…"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa! Let's not get too far ahead ov' ourselves here," Rattrap quickly interrupted. "Optimus doesn't blame ya fer anything dat happened today. It wouldn't ov mattered who was in charge; we still would've gotten our afts handed ta us like we did. I know fer a fact Optimus trusts ya, an' I'll bet ya two shifts ov' monitor duty dat da first chance he gets he'll put ya in charge ov another scout party."

Dinobot did not seem convinced and sent him a dark scowl. "Just because we share each other's berth does not mean you need to try and mollify me with empty reassurances."

Rattrap heaved an explosive sigh of exasperation. Why did _everything_ have to be so slaggin' difficult with her? For a 'bot as smart as her she couldn't possibly be this dense, could she? The spy eyed Dinobot for a long moment of silence before finally reaching out and grabbing her by the wrist. "Come on," he said, tugging on her insistently.

"What are you doing, Vermin?" the warrioress said as she slowly raised her head from the back of the chair to glare at him.

"I said, com'on. If yer so dead set on wallowin' in self pity tonight, den you should at least do it properly."

Whether intrigued or just too tired to actually argue with the spy for once, Dinobot reluctantly got to her pedes and followed Rattrap out of the bridge into the main ship. They walked together in silence, the muffled thump of their footsteps echoing down the dark corridors far into the distance. Dinobot said nothing as the spy led them to the crew's personal quarters where he keyed open the locks to his own rooms and motioned her inside with a welcoming sweep of his hand. The warrioress wordlessly entered, and as the spy closed and locked the door behind them sat on the edge of his berth with a sigh. Rattrap supposed it should have been a sign of just how far they'd come in their relationship for Dinobot to move about his rooms with such familiarity and ease. To the unobserving eye, it might have looked as though they'd been sharing quarters for much longer than just the single month they had been.

"If you are expecting me to initiate any sort of sexual activities tonight, Vermin, I should tell you right now that I am in no such mood to do so," Dinobot said as she let herself relax and ever so slightly slouch forward over her knees.

"Geez, Bronto Brains, get yer mind outta da gutter already. I wasn' expectin' ya ta do anything like dat. Naw, wha' I have in mind is something almost as good as a turn between da sheets, but something I think ya need right now even more den a good overload."

Dinobot quirked one optic ridge questioningly at him as he turned with a grin towards the ventilation duct on the one side of his room and deftly unscrewed its front panel. Reaching inside he withdrew a large screw-top metal canister from its depths and tossed it to Dinobot. The warrioress caught it and, twisting it open, gave it an experimental sniff.

"High grade?" she said with a flat look. "Why am I not surprised?"

Rattrap beamed proudly. "Been hidin' it der ever since we left Cybertron. Had a heck ov a time makin' sure Rhinox didn' find it before we took off. I've been savin' it fer a special occasion, but seein' as how yer so down in da dumps today I think I'll sacrifice it fer yer cause."

"I don't usually imbibe in high grade," she sneered and set the canister down beside her on the berthmat. "Especially not to compensate for the failures of my own actions."

Rattrap groaned and dropped down on the edge of the berth beside Dinobot. "Aw, come on! Ya can drop da whole high an' mighty warrior crud already. It's been a crappy day fer both of us. Lighten up already. No one else is here ta see ya be a normal 'bot fer once, so go ahead an' unwind. Here," he said, taking up the canister and pouring a small amount of amber colored liquid into its upturned cap. "Try it. Got it off da black market of Zeta Nine. It's da real good stuff. Ya can't find dis high 'a proof in regular stores."

Dinobot reluctantly took the proffered cup and shot Rattrap a skeptical look. Then, with a rumbled sigh as though too tired to try and resist any more, she put it to her lips and downed it with one sharp snap of her wrist. Rattrap had to admit he was highly impressed when the warrioress didn't even blink or stifle back a cough as the acidic liquid burned down the length of her throat. He wondered briefly just how honest she'd been when she'd said she didn't drink high grade often…

"Not bad," Dinobot said as she handed the cap back to Rattrap. "It is smoother than other batches I've had."

"Hm," Rattrap murmured with a raised optic ridge and took a shot himself. The high grade ran like liquid fire all the way down his intake line to the bottom of his fuel tank. It sat and burned there for a moment before dissipating and leaving a warm, pleasant, tingling sensation in its place. He smiled to himself as he poured another shot and handed it Dinobot. This time the warrioress accepted it without hesitation and sent it chasing after the first.

"Drinkin' doesn't seem like such'a bad idea now does it?" Rattrap smirked as the tension in the warrioress's shoulders and back visibly eased and she relaxed under the alcohol's effects.

Dinobot just grunted in reply and handed the cap back to him so that he might keep pace with her. "Is high grade your answer to everything?" she snorted.

"Pretty much," Rattrap grinned and took another shot.

This systematic exchange continued for some time until more than two-thirds of the canister was gone. By now Rattrap was well beyond the initial stages of 'warm and happy,' had bypassed the stage of 'tipsy' altogether and was now safely immersed in the stage most people would dub as plain old 'drunk.' Dinobot had also seemed to progress to a never before seen level of careless detachment. Although how inebriated she actually was given her larger size and weight Rattrap couldn't say for sure. But given the relaxed slouch of her posture, the noticeable absence of hostility around her and the tiniest hint of an actual smile tugging at one corner of her mouth, he had to guess she wasn't too far behind him on the scale.

"-so I was tellin' him he needed ta connect da two red wires ta'gether or he was gonna get shocked straight inta next week," Rattrap was saying. He was recounting for Dinobot an incident that had happened not too long after the Axalon's departure from Cybertron but before its unfortunate run in with Megatron between himself and Cheetor that involved his first and only attempt to teach the younger Maximal the basics of bomb making.

"And I take it he did not follow your instructions?" Dinobot said with a knowing smirk.

Rattrap shook his head and struggled to properly piece together the words through his haze of drunken, story-telling excitement. "No! Da dumb kid goes an' welds da exact two wires I told 'im _not_ ta wire together an' gets shocked so hard I ended up havin' ta peel him off da opposite wall!"

Dinobot snorted and gave a throaty chuckle. The ends of her lips curled a little bit higher at the corners. It was probably the first time Rattrap had ever heard something so close to an actual laugh from the stoic warrioress. He was not too drunk to admit he found it extremely attractive.

"Ya know…" he slurred as he unsteadily downed another shot of high grade and sloshed another capful of it out for Dinobot. "Ya don't look half bad when yer not snarlin' or threatenin' ta deactivate me. I might even say ya were kinda pretty." If Rattrap hadn't been so charged on high grade at the moment he might have been mortified by this unexpected admission. It just went to show how much alcohol could lower one's inhibitions.

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Kind of risqué towards the end here. Had to post the rest on a different site because of FFnet's recent crackdown on story content and ratings. The link to it can be found on my profile page. Thanks for reading and sorry for the inconvience.

Signing out  
-LAXgirl


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